Harry Potter and the Rose Order
by stalkerace
Summary: A change in the person who appeared in that particular alley in Surrey changes everything. Rewrite of Duke of Gryffindor.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it.

**A/N2: **So as I would not have to repeat the above sentence for every chapter, I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, at any point in time, yes, I would never own the franchise, so please, be informed that I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

**HARRY POTTER AND THE ROSE ORDER**

**ONE**

**Magnolia Crescent, Little Whinging **

**Surrey**

Moon, stars, and streetlamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in neighboring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Magnolia Crescent filled the air again. Harry stood quite still, all his senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a moment, he became aware that his T-shirt was sticking to him; he was drenched in sweat.

He could not believe what happened. Dementors _here_¸ in Little Whinging…

Dudley lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking. Harry bent to see whether he was in a fit state to stand, then heard loud, running footsteps behind him; instinctively raising his wand again, he spin on his heel to face the newcomer.

Harry saw two people running toward him, both with their wands drawn and both wearing dark cloaks. If not for the fact that they are not wearing masks, Harry would have mistaken them for the same Death Eaters that he had had the displeasure of meeting less than two months ago.

Now that he can see the faces of the two men approaching him, he noted that the robes that they are wearing, though as black as the ones that the Death Eaters usually wore, are subtly different. The Death Eater cloak was plain black, with nothing else on it, but these cloaks, while the same shade of black, had a crest on the left chest, just above the heart of the wearer.

The two men paused as they looked at the incident in the alley. The first person stopped closer to Harry than his companion, who promptly turned his attention outward, wand at the ready as if expecting the dementors to have some sort of reinforcements coming.

Harry instantly recognized the person who had stopped closer to him. Remus had been one of Harry's favorite professors in Hogwarts and, thanks to the rumored curse on the DADA post that saw a new occupant yearly, he is also Harry's favorite defense professor. It also helped that Remus had been a childhood friend of Harry's father James.

Though still quite young, Remus looked tired and rather ill; he had more graying hair than Harry had ever remembered, but he managed to smile enthusiastically and warmly at Harry.

"Sweet Merlin Harry" the defense professor commented, he seemed to take into account the mess left and the corporeal patronus still pacing around Harry, "But you sure did a number on them"

Harry nodded; he motioned for his professor to help him with his cousin, but before Remus can reply, the other man, in a strangely youthful sounding voice, said, "Remus, we do not have time"

Remus nodded, completely agreeing with this stranger, but still helped Harry carry his cousin – no mean feat, that – by throwing the free arm of Dudley over his head while Harry did the same thing that Remus did with the other hand.

Harry noted the look if disapproval on the face of the second man and for the first time, he could make the features of this person. He was young looking, certainly younger than Remus who always appears older than he really is. This second man was tall, medium-built, and carried himself in a way that told Harry that he is a powerful man, though not reflected on his face the moment that he and Harry exchanged a look.

Deep black eyes stared at the deep green eyes of the boy-who-lived. Harry can feel the intensity and the intelligence hiding behind those deep black orbs as much as he can feel the power in the carriage of this person. His eyes were encased in evenly spaced, almond-shaped eye-sockets, while his nose was thin, pointed, and aristocratic while his lips were full but a little pale.

"We cannot leave him," the voice of Remus Lupin tore Harry out from his reverie and turned to stare back at his still knocked out cousin. The voice of Remus told Harry that his old professor truly meant that, even if Harry saw the disapproval on the face of the other man.

"Fine," the other man said, he sighed and manipulated the long-sleeves of the dress shirt that he was wearing. He pulled on the cuffs on his left arm, revealing a wristwatch that he looked at before he turned toward Harry and Remus, saying, "We might have time," he admitted, then he shook his head, "besides, we do need to drop by the house to pick up young Master Potter's things"

"That we do," Remus said, he started half-dragging, half-carrying Dudley from the alley and into the main road, only to be stopped by the other man who raised his hand in the universal stopping motion, "Al, what is it this time?" Remus asked in an expaserated voice.

Dragging Dudley might have had some effect on the tone that Remus had used, but it was clear to Harry that his old Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was about to lose his patience.

"Why are you dragging him when we can just levitate him?" the man that Harry now know as Al, asked. He pointed his wand – which Harry noted was longer than was usual – at Dudley, but before he can say something, Remus stopped him, flashing him the same universal stopping motion that Al had used on the werewolf but a few moments ago, "What?" Al asked, and with him, there was no hiding the irritation, as the irritation was in the open.

"We cannot use magic, the tracking devices would assume that it is Harry," Remus said, turning his attention toward Harry, who looked at Remus with confusion evident in his face. Remus noticed this and said, "Later, Harry, we'll explain later"

Buoyed by that promise, Harry nodded and started to help his old professor half-drag, half-carry his cousin. Harry did not bother to look back at Al when they passed the second wizard, but if the boy-who-lived had, he would have seen the smile on the face of the wizard.

About fifteen minutes later, they finally reached the driveway of Number Four. Harry was thankful that there were not many people who were out for the evening as he really does not fancy answering questions from the neighbors as to why he is dragging his cousin. Of course, since there are very few people out and about, there would also be very few people who can claim that they have seen Harry dragging his out-cold cousin.

Apparently, Vernon and Petunia Dursley were waiting for their child to come home because at the moment that Harry and Remus had stepped into the perimeter of the house – Al had stayed behind and Harry can see him speaking with someone over a mobile phone – the door opened and Petunia came running out, screaming at Harry about what he had done to her 'poor Duddykins'.

Vernon was just a few steps behind his wife and he too exited the house with a vengeance. The drill company manager actually already has a metal-studded belt in his hand, ready to his nephew when he realized that he was not alone. The reaction of Vernon at seeing someone else was quite funny and he tried his best to come up with a decision as to whether or not to hide his belt. As he cannot make a decision, he just stood there with his right hand – holding the belt – ready to come down at his nephew.

Al joined them a few moments into the confusion and the two still awake Dursley's took one look at him before they started to feel intimidated. Turning to look at Al, Harry can certainly understand why. Unlike Remus, whose clothes were, more often than not, old and graying much like his appearance, Al was wearing something that was clearly expensive.

An obviously custom tailored black dress shirt for a top, a tailored black dress pants for trousers, perfectly shined leather black oxfords and a gold silk necktie was, in any way you look at it, quite intimidating for the appearance-conscious Dursley family.

"Er…," Vernon tentatively tried. Realizing that he looked silly with his right hand positioned as it is, he lowered it, before he turned toward Al and said, "What did my nephew try to do this time sir?"

Al looked at Vernon with an inquisitive glance, and then he smiled. A mischievous smile appeared on his face as he looked at the two boys and asked, "Which one is your nephew, Mr. Dursley?" he asked, and then he pointed at Dudley and Harry as he continued his question, "this one or this one?"

Vernon was too busy formulating an answer that would save him the most face – after all, he expects that the man would point at Harry doing something that he should not be doing – that he did not even notice that Al had addressed him by his name. That might have been a coincidence, however, as the name of the owner of the house was written on the mailbox.

"Er…," Vernon began.

Remus, now too impatient to wait, dropped the entire game altogether and turned toward his companion, "Hurry this up Al," he said.

Apparently, Petunia did not notice Remus dragging her son. When the werewolf spoke, however, Petunia turned her attention toward him, and she let out a shriek that caused Vernon to turn toward his wife, only to find her pointing accusingly at Remus, "You," she said, "You're a freak!"

Remus growled under his breath, but did not say anything. With the full Moon too close, Remus feared what he might do and feared what he might say. Keeping his mouth shut is the best thing to do.

Vernon finally realized what is going on and was about to order everyone to get off his property when he paused as he saw Al reach into his pocket and pull out his wand. Given the length of the wood – Harry guessed that it must be at least fourteen inches long – Al was a considerable distance away from Vernon, though that did not stop his uncle from fidgeting.

"No magic," Remus said, sparing Vernon from saying that Al is not allowed to use magic outside the school. Of course, had that been the case, Al would have just reminded the walrus that he is already an adult. Still, now that Remus had reminded him, Al remembered that any magic used in the vicinity of this house would alert the ministry, so he nodded.

Vernon smirked when he saw Al sheathe his wand as he thought that he now have the advantage. His smirk grew larger when Al dropped to one of his knees, ostensibly to fix his shoes, though Vernon saw that as a sign of supplication for some reason.

The smirk on the face of the obese company director, however, disappeared and gave way to shock when Al brought himself up to full height once more. Though Al had indeed sheathed his wand, the magical focus, apparently was not his only weapon. Vernon Dursley stared at the business end of a P229 compact pistol, and it was pointed straight at his face.

"Right," Al said in a falsely friendly voice as he stared at Vernon, "Why don't we take this conversation inside the house?"

Vernon was not about to complain, not when he is staring at a weapon that he can recognize and is capable of boring a hole in his head. He was about to nod, though he did hesitate when he heard the engines of incoming vehicles.

Two black unmarked vans appeared on the bend and made their way through the road in front of Number Four, stopping just in front of the house. Vernon thought that he now has some reinforcements, only to be dismayed when he realized that the unmarked vans contain people that are with this freak that was holding a gun at him. He had to keep himself from shouting 'freak' at the man, however, as he was sure that the man would not hesitate in boring a hole in his head.

Vernon finally nodded, just in time to watch as the door in one of the unmarked vans open and a man step out. Vernon nearly fainted when he saw that the man who had stepped out of the van was wearing British military fatigues and he looked as if he were carrying a rifle.

"Let's go," Al said, inclining his head slightly toward the house. Vernon nodded and led the way into the interior of his rather small house, his wife following behind him while two men wearing military fatigues followed behind them, dragging their still unconscious son between the two of them. Harry and Remus brought about the rear, the latter trying to silently explain to the former what the hell is going on. Suffice to say, Remus is failing mightily.

Inside his house, Vernon renewed some of his courage and started shouting at Harry to explain what happened to his son. Al allowed him to rant and rave for a few moments before his eardrum had enough and he pointed his sidearm at the walrus once more, effectively shutting Dursley up.

"I think that it would be better if we are to have this discussion in relatively good order," Al said, staring at Vernon and Petunia and conveying that if they wished for it otherwise, he would just shut them up forever. Two camouflaged clad men taking positions – one at the door and the other at the pathway to the kitchen from the living room – added credence to the implied threat that Al was giving the adult Dursley's.

Vernon nodded his acceptance of the proposal, though he was clearly against it. He turned toward his nephew and asked, "Alright, what the hell happened?"

Harry turned toward Remus and Al, and the two men nodded, giving him permission to talk about what had happened. The boy-who-lived had barely opened his mouth, however, when a screech owl flew into the house through an open window, missed the head of Vernon, barely, and dropped a letter on the surface in front of Harry before it flew out of the house and into the darkness.

Vernon looked ready to shout and rave, but he was prevented from doing so by Al taking the letter and remarking, "Well, that was quick," he said, he handed Harry the letter and he opened it, fearing that it is an expulsion order as Harry remembered the warning the last time that magic was used in this house.

Harry opened the letter and sure enough, it was an expulsion order, expelling him from Hogwarts and informing him that Ministry representatives would be coming over to destroy his wand. Harry slumped on the couch and handed Remus the letter, but the werewolf smiled and shook his head, prompting Harry to look at Remus with a questioning look, "This is ministry parchment, not Hogwarts parchment," he said, he smiled and added, "the Ministry has no jurisdiction in Hogwarts, Harry, they cannot expel you, and," his smile grew more sinister and he nodded his head toward Al, "I would love to see what aurors can do against Al and his people"

At that moment, another owl flew into the house, but unlike the first one, this one actually crashed into the house. Al retrieved the owl as he was closest to the poor animal and handed Harry the letter while he scratched the breast of the animal, comforting it.

The letter was from Arthur Weasley and told Harry that the Headmaster had already arrived at the Ministry and was sorting things out. Although Harry was less than pleased with this, it did give him some hope, though Remus was oddly quiet when the name of Dumbledore was mentioned.

A third owl screeched into the house and dropped a letter in front of Harry before once more disappearing into the night. Harry opened the letter and discovered that it was from the Ministry, telling him that Dumbledore had managed to placate them for now and that no one would be calling to destroy the wand. Strangely, Al looked a bit disappointed, though Harry chose not to mention it.

With the number of letters addressed to him this night, Harry was surprised when a fourth owl screeched into the room and dropped a letter for Remus. The former professor looked curiously at the letter for a few moments and then he took it and opened it.

Truthfully, Remus was worried that they might have been compromised since, supposedly, no one knows that he is this house today. He had taken great pains to make sure that Mundugus Fletcher – the guard of Harry – is distracted, but Remus never imagined that Harry would be attacked by Dementors on the very same day that he and his newfound allies are planning to extract Harry from this place.

The letter inside calmed Remus down, though he was the only one who knows that he was agitated by the appearance of the letter. The former Gryffindor prefect instantly recognized the handwriting used in the letter and he knew that they have not been compromised; the author of the letter - Sirius Black – was in on the plan.

Remus read the letter and nodded to himself once he was done. He handed Harry the letter and the boy-who-lived took the letter, missing the nod that Remus had given Al. Al took the nod and then he turned his attention to his two fatigue-wearing comrades in the room and nodded to them,

Vernon and Petunia Dursley once more found themselves staring at the business end of a gun, only this time, they were staring at the business end of an assault rifle instead of a sidearm. Harry did not notice this happening as he was scanning the letter that Remus had handed him and was surprised when he saw his aunt and uncle with their hands up.

"Remus?" Harry asked as he handed the werewolf the letter. Obviously, Harry was not going to ask why his aunt and uncle are staring at guns, and Remus noticed that at once, "Where is he?"

"We are going to be the one to answer that question, Harry," Al said in a friendly voice, this time, his voice was genuinely friendly. He stood before Harry can say anything and walked toward an open window in the house, stroking the breast of the owl that was still perched on his arm. Once he was at the window, he extended his arm outside the house and the owl flew before disappearing into the darkness.

At the same time, five people entered the room, all wearing the same fatigues as the first two who now had the adult Dursley's under guard, though they were not carrying rifles. That did not mean that they were not carrying, however, as Harry can see the holsters on their hips.

"Harry, Remus," Al said, turning his attention once more toward the two, "I would appreciate it if you would help my men in packing young Master Potter's things," he looked at his wristwatch once more and nodded toward Harry and Remus, "this time, we truly do not have much time left"

Remus nodded and nudged Harry to follow him. The boy-who-lived hesitated for a few moments, but then he nodded and led Remus and the five men to his room where they may start packing Harry's things.

Once Harry and Remus were gone, Al holstered his P229 pistol back at his ankle holster and sat at the couch directly opposite where the adult Dursley's – who had not even moved a muscle since the moment that the rifles were pointed at them – and looked at them. Al did not bother to hide the disgust in his face when he looked at the two, though he was able to restrain himself from killing the two beasts there and then. He had to practice some anger management techniques though, but it was enough.

Al turned his attention toward their still unconscious son and he snorted before he surveyed the living room of the house. As Al had expected, there was not a single picture of Harry in display, though there were lots of Dudley.

With a sneer that made the adult Dursley's fidget uncomfortably, Al waved his hand in the direction of Dudley, and the bully woke up screaming. A shouted warning from Remus upstairs – no doubt they also heard the screams – reminded Al not to overdo it, and he stopped, turning to face the adult Dursley's once more.

As Al had expected, the two Dursley's were outraged with what had happened, but they were hardly ready to protest as both knew that that is impossible, given the fact that they are currently staring at the business end of assault rifles.

"If there is anything in this world that I hate more than bullies, it is those who tolerate them," Al said, staring at the two Dursley's, he sighed and added, "I do not know if you purposely ignore the signs that your child is a bully or if you really do not have any idea, either way, you allowed this to happen, and as such," he waved his hand toward Dudley and the boy woke up, though at the same time that he did, the tail of a pig appeared exactly where it had appeared before.

Vernon growled under his breath and was about halfway up the couch when he suddenly had to pause as he heard the sound of a charging handle being pulled and the two fatigue-wearing men in front of them pressing their rifles closer to his temple.

"I doubt that if the Ministry of Magic of Britain would move against me, Dursley," Al said in an almost bored tone, "Two reasons, they truly do not care about what non-magical people, those whom they call muggles, think, do and what happened to them, and two," he smirked at them and retrieved a passport that he showed to the Dursleys.

Vernon and Petunia were shocked when they read the word 'diplomat' stamped across the passport, "Second," Al said, continuing, "I am a registered diplomat from another country and as such, I have diplomatic immunity," he started laughing as he motioned toward a thoroughly confused – and half-awake – Dudley, "what I just did would not even land me six months in jail even if I were not a diplomat"

The sound of footsteps coming from the second floor of the house prevented Al from gloating anymore. With a sigh, he turned to face the adult Dursley's and delivered his final warning, "With Harry Potter leaving this place, this house would soon lose the wards that had kept you and your family safe these past fourteen years, I suggest that you leave this place sooner rather than later"

Vernon was about to say something, but Al was tired of hearing his voice even if he had not really heard the fat man that much. After all, having a gun pointed at someone is a surefire way of shutting that someone up. Al waved his hand in the general direction of the Durlsey's and the two adult Dursley's fell asleep just as Harry and Remus entered the room.

"Got tired of them," Al replied when Harry looked at him with the unasked question, Al sighed and then added, "They're still alive, just sleeping," he looked at Remus and asked, "Got everything?"

Remus nodded and Al stood, "Let's go," he said, leading Harry out of the house and into one of the black unmarked vans, and away from Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, forever.

Hours later, Vernon and Petunia Dursley's woke up and the first thing that they did was to check their son. They were relieved to see that he does not have the tail anymore, though both were sure that it was not a dream, for one thing, someone left a single rifle round on the table in front of them, and for another, all of the things of Harry, even the things that were padlocked under the stairs, were gone.

Vernon and Petunia, however, did not know whether they should celebrate or not with the fact that their nephew is finally gone from their lives.

PROJECT 11A307 OPERATION HERMIONE Page 11


	2. Chapter 2

**TWO**

**Rose Order Headquarters**

**Essex **

The first thing that Harry noticed about the van that he and Remus were riding on was that they were non-magical. There were no space expansion charms or anything of that sort in any inch of the vehicle.

The second thing that Harry noticed about the van that he and Remus were riding on was that it does not hop like the Ministry cars that he rode on during the opening of his third year. Given that these vehicles are occupied by men that Harry is sure are not members of the magical world, the boy-who-lived guessed that, in hindsight, he should have known better.

It was not that the seats on the vehicle were uncomfortable, for even if they are not as luxurious as the seats in the Hogwarts Express, they are still a tad improvement over the seats of the company car of Vernon Dursley, no, Harry was uncomfortable because no matter how comforting the leather cover of the seats of the car was, anybody would be tired if they were seated on the same position for over an hour.

Glancing all around him, Harry saw that Remus was half-asleep. The man that Harry now knew as Al was seated at the right hand side seat at the front, was wide awake, but was not talking either, while those others who were with them on the van were either murmuring in silence amongst themselves, or where already lost in slumber.

The two black unmarked vans followed the north-east main highway leading from London, not that Harry can guess that, and had ended up in the county that was just north-east of the Greater London Area, Essex.

Given the distance and the fact that the cars were travelling in the mundane way, not to mention the lateness of the hour when they started their journey, it was already way past midnight by the time that the vans left the main highway and turned into a secondary road that gave way to a smaller road half an hour later. After another fifteen minutes of driving in this small road, they breached the wards – and those who were magical felt that, jerking Remus awake – and a majestic castle stood before them.

Harry had to bite back his surprise at the sudden appearance of the castle. The castle was so much unlike Hogwarts as this one only has two towers. This castle, however, looked much more secure, with its battlements fully manned by men and its parapets patrolled.

The two vans entered the castle through a drawbridge, a drawbridge that started to retract the moment that the first van had cleared it. By the time that the second van had crossed the barbican of the castle, the drawbridge was already completely retracted.

After a minute of driving in a circle, the van that Harry was riding on stopped before the main structure of the castle while the other van – the second van – had disappeared from view, probably having taken a different route the moment that they entered the castle.

Al turned to Harry and Remus and nodded at the same moment that the sliding doors of the van opened. Unlike their counterparts inside the van, the men who opened the sliding doors of the vehicle for them were wearing black. From head to foot, the men were clad in tight-fitting black gears, complete with black balaclavas and black gloves, but the attention of Harry was quickly torn from their style of clothing, to the fact that all of them have an assault rifle slung over their torsos.

Al opened his door on his own and jumped out of the van just as Harry and Remus did. Once they are clear, the van – which had not turned off its engines – completed the circle before disappearing inside another large building with doors that are enough to accommodate three vans sallying out simultaneously.

"Come on," Al said, motioning for Harry and Remus to follow him. Remus did not hesitate, but he did wait for Harry, who hesitated for a few moments, before they entered the keep of the castle.

Scarlet and gold streamers hung from the second floor of the main hall, reminding Harry of the Great Hall of Hogwarts during the festive end of term feast. Turning his attention to the Hall in front of him, Harry was surprised that there are also four long tables in this hall, though there appeared to be an absence of the long table for the staff.

Mounted at the middle of the far wall of the Hall was a coat of arms that Harry had never seen before. This particular coat of arms was easily his height, and underneath it, there are more than a dozen smaller ones arranged in eight columns of six rows each.

As they walked closer to the far wall of the Hall, Harry studied the giant coat. It reminded the boy-who-lived of a Tudor Rose, but upon closer examination, Harry realized that unlike a Tudor Rose, this Rose was purely red. It was encased in a black shield and behind the Rose, there was a crossed sword and a wand.

Underneath the rose were two words in Latin which read _Justicia Tenix_, Tenacious of Justice in English. Harry learned that this was the motto of the Rose Order when Remus leaned to him and whispered that to his ear. Hearing that, however, just gave the boy-who-lived more question, foremost of which is 'what is the Rose Order?'

Al led them through a side door in the Great Hall and Harry found himself staring at a long corridor with several smaller passageways that must lead to other rooms inside the keep. Al did not bother to inform him where those other passageways would lead, walking toward a particular passageway without saying anything, forcing Harry to follow.

The particular passageway that Al had chosen led to a stone staircase which they used to climb to the second floor of the keep. Once more, Harry found himself staring at a corridor, though this time, instead of smaller passageways, there are doors that Harry guessed would lead to rooms. They did not enter any of those rooms, however, as Al continued to lead them to the far end of the corridor where there is another stone staircase that led them to the third floor.

The third floor was not a long corridor. There are only five wooden doors in the third floor and Al led them through the closest one. Harry found himself in a two storey library filled with books and he smiled as he remembered his female best friend. Harry knew that Hermione would love to be here someday, and a small part of his mind wondered if he can obtain permission from whoever is the owner of this building to bring her along sometime.

The attention of Harry, however, was quickly stolen by the voice of a man shouting his name from within the room. The boy-who-lived turned his attention toward the source of the voice and he smiled when he saw the speaker.

Unlike the last time that he had seen him, when he had long, filthy hair and the smell of vermin infesting him surrounding him, Sirius Black was clean. His black hair was cut and he appeared more like the handsome best man of James Potter during the Potter wedding than the picture on the Daily Prophet proclaiming his escape from the supposedly inescapable Azkaban Prison.

Harry and Sirius exchanged hugs without a word being said between the two of them, and for a split few seconds, Harry wondered about Sirius. It is strange that this is only the second year since he had known the man, and yet, he trusts him far more than he can trust the family with whom he had been living with more than ten years. He shrugged, however, when he told himself that it was not a question that deserved to be answered as the answer is already quite obvious.

Sirius motioned for Harry to take a seat in one of the wooden benches surrounding them, and the boy-who-lived sat at the nearest bench. Sirius and Remus sat beside Harry while Al sat opposite them at the same moment that house-elves popped into existence and started to serve them a very late dinner. Given that it is already way past midnight, it was probably a very early breakfast.

"So," Sirius said, turning his attention toward Al who, Harry saw, was already picking on the chips in his plate, "Where do we start?"

Al smiled, he inclined his head toward Harry, forcing the young wizard in training to look at him. Al bowed slightly toward Harry and then said, "I know that we have not been introduced formally, so please," he said, standing up and performing a perfect courtier bow before a king, "Alvin Charles York, at your service, Deputy Commander of the Rose Order and acting commander of the English Rose Order Regiment"

Harry nodded at Al, clearly unsure what to say next. He turned toward Sirius who smiled at him, before Harry asked, "What is the Rose Order? And where are we?"

"Young Master Potter," Al said, but before he can say anything, Harry interrupted him and demanded that Al address him by his first name, earning a smile that may be considered a smirk from Al, though the deputy commander of the Rose Order nodded his acknowledgement of the request, "Harry then," Al said, earning him a nod from the boy in question, "The Rose Order is a secret organization that traces its origins before the Norman Conquest of 1066, we were, and are, charged with protecting the Realm from magical threats against the throne of England," he sighed and then looked at Harry, "I am not here to discuss the history of the Order, however, as that would take all night, suffice to say, over the years, our duties grew to include, but not limited to, protecting the monarch from magical threats, suppression of magical rebellions, and enforcement of the International Statute of Secrecy through the mundane side"

"So you are the Ministry?" Harry asked, his voice turning hostile at the mention of what the boy-who-lived clearly believed was an ineffective and corrupt central government.

Al actually smiled as he shook his head, "No," he replied, "We are not the Ministry," he looked at Remus and Sirius who nodded, before he turned his attention back to Harry and continued, "In 1692, the magical world signed into law the International Statute of Secrecy, formally separating the magical and mundane worlds, prior to the signing of this statute, the Rose Order made sure to keep magic a secret in England, subsequent to these events, the magical world forgot about us, and that is just how we want it," he smiled and added, "We are not the Ministry of Magic, an illegal organization formed in 1721, for our loyalty lies with the crown of the United Kingdom"

Harry looked at Sirius and Remus and the two men nodded, silently urging the young man to believe in what Al had just said. Harry turned his attention toward Al and saw the deputy commander of the Rose Order still smiling. With his godfather and the closet person that he has as an uncle urging him to do so, Harry finally gave a nod to Al, tentatively giving his trust to the man.

"Very good," Al said, he looked at Harry and then smiled, "Let me guess," he said, "Your next question would be 'why me?'," and when Harry nodded, Al answered the question, "the Order is not one without intelligence sources from the magical world," Al explained, "We know what happened last year, and we happen to believe you far more than we would trust the Ministry of Magic"

"Then why not go after Voldemort?" an exasperated Harry asked.

Al nodded, "Believe me, we want to," he replied, and then he sighed, "Unfortunately, the International Statute of Secrecy is a valid law that prohibits the mundane governments from interfering with the magical world and vice versa, unless there is a direct request for assistance or one side can prove that the other is out of control and that they are interfering in the interest of the common good of both worlds."

"So we are going to just stand around and wait and do nothing?" Harry asked rhetorically, "What about the Headmaster, surely he had done something; I've heard before that he is the only one that Voldemort has ever been truly afraid of?"

Harry did not notice the angry expressions on the face of Sirius and Remus when he mentioned the Headmaster of Hogwarts, though he did see the ironic smile on the face of Al when the Headmaster was mentioned, and this prompted Harry to ask what the smile was about.

Al was only all too happy to explain, "Harry," he said, "When you were in the graveyard when Voldemort was resurrected, how many Death Eaters were there? More than a dozen?" Harry nodded, prompting Al to ask again, "And you know some of them?" again, Harry nodded, "Question, why are they not in Azkaban?"

Harry paused, thinking about an answer to the question posed by Al. He looked back at the deputy commander of the Rose Order a few moments later and replied, "I was told that they have bribed their way out of prison, I've been told that Cornelius Fudge is an spineless, corrupt bastard"

Al nodded, "True," he replied, conceding that point, "but ask yourself this, Albus Dumbledore is the Head of the Wizengamot, the magical parliament convened under the authority of Her Majesty, even though they had forgotten that. He is the head of their judicial courts, parliament, and influences the government far better than anyone, why can he not pressure the government to administer truth serum on these 'imperiused' Death Eaters?"

Harry blinked and tried to find an answer to that one. When he cannot find an answer on his own, he turned for help to Sirius and Remus, only to find that the two men were actually looking more hostile than Al was.

"I don't trust Dumbledore, not anymore," Sirius said before Harry can say anything, "I spent close to thirteen years in Azkaban all because he cannot be assed to demanding a trial for me, I know I would have been cleared easily"

"Agreed," Remus said, nodding. He turned his attention toward Harry and explained, "The Will of James and Lily stated that Sirius is to become your legal guardian in the event of their deaths and that under no circumstances are you to be given to Petunia and Vernon, orphanage was actually listed as being a better choice, but Dumbledore blocked that one by sending Sirius to Azkaban and then blocking their will"

Harry blinked, "May I see the will?" he asked.

Remus smiled and nodded, "You may," he replied, "in fact, you must, but I am afraid that it cannot be today, we would have to drop by Gringott's since they have the only original copy that has not been tampered," he growled, "Using his position as Supreme Mugwump, Dumbledore blocked Gringott's from executing your parent's will."

Harry nodded, but he still cannot bring himself to start suspecting his Headmaster, especially not after all the man had done for him in school. As he looked back, however, Harry had to wonder exactly what the Headmaster had done for him in school.

"You're thinking," Al said, causing Harry to look at him. Harry saw the deputy commander of the Rose Order smile and nod, "If you have any questions that you may wished answered, I would be ready to help you find some, though there is no way that I could answer all of them"

Harry nodded and narrated the events of his First Year at Hogwarts. By the time that they were done, it was already half past two in the morning, and almost everyone was about ready to go to bed. Harry, however, wanted answers, prompting Al to call on a house-elf to get them some potions that would help them stay the night.

Once the potions were administered, Al turned toward Harry and asked, "Harry, do you know what Occulumencary is?"

Harry shook his head and Al answered, "it is a mind art," he explained, "It protects the mind from being read by someone whom we call a Legilimancer, a person who had mastered the art of Legillimancy, that is, reading someone's mind," he smiled and then looked at Harry and asked, "Do you get where I am going with this?"

At first, Harry shook his head, but then his eyes widened when he realized something. He looked at Al and nodded, "He should have known that Quirell was going to go after the stone, he should have known that we had learned what the stone was," he said.

Al smiled, "It is highly illegal to enter one's mind without permission," he replied, "it has not stopped Dumbledore before though, but even if he is not a master Legillimancer, one has to consider the wards in and around the school, they were designed to warn the Headmaster if there is a Dark Wizard about to enter the school," he smiled and then asked, "Second Year?"

"Ginny," Harry replied, "If is a master Legilimancer, he should have known and yet he did nothing," he looked at Al and asked, "the wards?"

Al nodded, "Designed to locate Dark Wizards, so locating an object like the diary would be a piece of cake for them," he replied, this time, he did not smile as he added, "Of course, Dumbledore knew about the Chamber, he had been there when the Chamber was first opened, the question then becomes, why did the man not do anything about it?"

"Third year," Harry said, taking over, he turned to his godfather before he turned to look at the Deputy Commander of the Rose Order and said, "Sirius"

"Among other things," Al replied, "Scabbers/Wormtail or whatever it is that you call the coward," he added, "An animagus inside his castle that he did not know about? I find that highly improbable, especially when one considers that Albus Dumbledore is well aware that Peter is a rat animagus"

"No wards to cover animagus transformations then?" Sirius asked sarcastically.

"On the contrary, there are, but they are only limited to the castle itself," Al replied, "As such, the wards would only trigger if the target crosses the threshold of the castle, not when the target enters the castle grounds," he sighed and then added, "Hogwarts is one of the most well defended schools in the whole world. Only two other schools are more defended, the other being Durmstrang and only because their wards are lethal, and their location is a well guarded secret. Wards are always foremost among the passive defenses of the magical world, and they are more flexible and versatile than any that the mundane world can come up with right now"

"We go to fourth year," Al said, turning his attention toward Harry, "From what I had heard, this is the worst year for you," and when Harry nodded, Al motioned that he narrate the events from his point of view.

With everything that had happened during that year, it was already four in the morning when Harry finished. No one was still showing signs of fatigue – they had potions after all – so Al just continued on to dissect the events.

"The first thing that I would note is the fake Moody," Al said, "Again, being a Legilimancer would have made Dumbledore aware that Crouch is not Moody, but even if that were not the case, why didn't the great Dumbledore notice that one of his oldest friends is actually a polyjuiced imposter," his eyes widened as he added, "he should have realized this when the fake used the imperius curse on all of his students, damn, I didn't see that," he shook his head and then muttered to himself, "teachers using defined dark curses against their students, that is a major sign that they are losing control," he shook his head again.

"Al?" Remus asked.

"Forgive me," the deputy commander of the Rose Order said; before he sighed and explained, "We have been searching for a way, any way, to justify our intervention, and one has been given to us, I fear, however," he added quickly, "that it would not be enough"

"Anyway," Al quickly said before anything else can say anything, he looked at Harry and continued, "Let's move on to the tournament," Harry nodded, but before he can say anything, Al said, "Why did the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, not declare the tournament a draw and instead, continued on, forcing you to compete in a tournament reserved for adults?" before Harry can answer, however, Al said, "the best thing that we can get from this is that you are now a legal adult with the competition"

"What?" Sirius, Remus and Harry asked simultaneously. Al looked at them all with amusement in his eyes before Harry took over and repeated the question.

Al smiled and then inclined his head toward Harry, "A competition reserved for adults cannot have a minor in its competing roster," he replied, "By consequence of the actions of the Ministry that evening, they have declared you an adult, and with the fact that you had won the tournament, that declaration is now inviolable and binding upon the world as a whole," he sighed and added, "both magical and mundane"

Harry blinked, surprised at that sudden proclamation. He wondered why the Headmaster negated to mention that fact to him, but now that he had heard it, he had to admit that it made sense. If he is to compete in a tournament reserved for adults, then he must be an adult. Suddenly, Harry realized why Dumbledore had forgotten, purposely, to mention that tidbit of information to him.

"Blood wards," he muttered under his breath, prompting the three adults to look at him, Al with a questioning look, prompting Harry to explain, "Dumbledore told me that he had placed Blood Wards around Privet Drive to protect me"

Harry had expected many questions to come from the three adults, but he sure as hell did not expect them to burst out laughing. A few moments later, Al stopped and explained the cause of their mirth, "Harry," he said, 'if he had placed Blood Wards around your residence, then you would not have been able to cast even a single spell until you are released from them, a not so pleasant process I am told."

"Then…," Harry began.

Al nodded, "That's a lie," he replied.

"Why didn't anyone…," he began.

"Blood Wards are old magic," Al explained, "Only a Pureblood family would have known about them, as they are considered borderline dark magic," he sighed and then said, "Hermione Granger would not been able to tell you about them, but Ronald Weasley would have, though why he did not inform you about them, is anybody's guess," he smirked as he added to Remus and Sirius, "I would bet that it is because he doesn't know about it, being as lazy as he is"

With all the revelations that had been revealed to him this day, Harry merely nodded. He was in no mood to defend his best friend right now as he yawned. Al noted the yawn and nodded as he stood, "I think that we best continue this conversation some other time, as you all look as if you need to rest," he smirked before anyone can say anything, "I would go ahead with my plans to visit the Granger's tomorrow, you are all invited, of course"

"Hermione?" Harry asked.

Al nodded, "the Order believes that of your two best friends, she is the one who is the most danger," he replied, "Ronald is under the protection of his family wards, Hermione is not, and since I am friends with her father, I think that we must get to them first," he shook his head and added, "I would not trust her under the protection of your Headmaster, Harry, I am sorry, so I would have to bring them under the protection of the Rose Order"

"May I come with you tomorrow?" Harry asked. He was quite eager to see Hermione again, though for what reason, at this moment in time, even Harry cannot say.

"Of course," Al replied with a smile, Harry, Sirius and Remus stood just as Al said, "I would bid all of you to have pleasant dreams for the remainder of the night, and I would have someone wake you up when it is time to prepare to leave," he bowed before them and then exited the room.

Harry looked at the two adults, and they both smiled at him before they led him to where he would be staying.


	3. Chapter 3

**THREE**

**Maidenhead, Berkshire**

**England, United Kingdom**

The dark gray car moved purposely through the wide two lane residential road flanked on both sides by picturesque homes with immaculately manicured lawns and their garages.

Inside the magically modified Jaguar XJ, Alvin York was careful not to exceed the residential speed limit of twenty kilometers per hour as he searched the houses on either side of him for the residence of the Grangers.

With all the houses in the area – and because most of them looked a lot like each other – Al was having a hard time locating his target. It was with a smile that he congratulated himself that he had the sense to get into position early just in case something like this was to happen. After all, being early in the area would allow him to search the place.

Al turned the car on another left and blinked when he saw something that he was sure he would not be seeing if the house was a normal non-magical residence. Although on the outside, it was just like the other houses in the area – it has two floors plus an attic, a front porch, and a two car garage at the side – there was something on the other side of the sidewalk that was looked out of place. That single thing that was out of place was all the confirmation that Al needed in order to know that he had finally reached the target.

Another smile crept up the face of the Deputy Leader of the Rose Leader as he looked at that which was out of place. He had no doubt that the Order of the Phoenix watcher – which he recognized, through the help of familiarization briefings conducted by Sirius and Remus, to be Deadalus Diggle – was sure that no one can see him.

If Al had been on a regular car, then that might have been true, but the Jaguar that he was riding on was magically modified, and one of the aspects of the vehicle that was modified was her windshield.

Although it might look like a normal windshield, the truth is that the front windows of the car was charmed with a spell that allowed whoever is looking through it from within the car to pierce through any and all known magical methods of invisibility.

Shaking his head imperceptibly, the Deputy Leader of the Rose Order parked his car just in front of the Granger house driveway. He did not dismount from the car right away, instead, contacting the nearest police station that he had passed and warning them of the suspicious person. The bored operator on the other end promised to send some officers along before the call was terminated.

Al casually shot a spell toward the watcher as he dismounted from his vehicle. Without a wand in his hand, Deadalus Diggle was none the wiser. In fact, the member of the Order still thought that he was invisible under the invisibility cloak when he is already quite visible.

With the way that he is dressed, however, no one wanted to come near him, adding credence to his belief that he is still hidden by the cloak that was actually adding more to the weirdness.

Al walked toward the front door of the house, appearing as non-magical as possible. Although he had destroyed the cloak of the Order guards, he had no doubt that they would call for reinforcements should they perceive a threat. Maintaining his cover is one of the reasons why Al had chosen to wear the quintessential non-magical clothing, and he had to admit that he looked a lot like a banker with the dark suit. He did not mind, though.

Inside the house, Hermione Granger was reading a book while resting on the sofa in their living room when she heard the bell ringing. She looked toward the direction of the kitchen where her parents are helping each other prepare for their lunch today; she shrugged and got off the sofa, intending to answer the door herself.

She briefly wondered what bill it would be that she would have to receive today, but shrugged once more as she reminded herself that it would not have mattered. A smile was already on her face – remembering what her mother had told when she was ten years old – when she opened the door.

"Good morning," Hermione said, greeting the unknown person on the other end of the door.

Al smiled back and inclined his head gently toward the shorter girl, "Good morning," he greeted back, "Is this the residence of Dr. Alexander Granger?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, and assumed that this was a friend of her father. She looked over at him and nodded once more before she motioned for him to enter the house and wait at the living room.

Hermione can sense the power of the individual in front of him, and she realized that this man is most probably a wizard. Still, he named her father, so they may be acquaintances and from what she can see, the man in front of him was as normal as one could go. She decided to answer in the affirmative, invited the stranger into the living room, and went off to call her father.

In the Granger living room, Al took note of everything. He saw the many pictures of the family and confirmed that Mr. and Mrs. Granger doted on Hermione. Most of the pictures in the living room are of the girl, and there are few other pictures where she is with other children, and in those pictures, Hermione does not look too happy, so he surmised that those pictures have been taken for the sake of formality only.

Al did not take a seat since he was not given permission to seat; instead, he stood at the living room. This turned out to be a good thing since a few moments later, Hermione, followed by her father and mother, entered the room. What surprised Al was that Hermione's hands were behind her, and from the way that those hands were positioned, Al can tell that the young witch was holding her wand.

Al managed to smile at the gesture which, fortunately, Alexander Granger mistook as being meant for him. The broad-shouldered dentist approached his old friend with a smile and extended his hand. Al did not hesitate in accepting the offer and the handshake that followed was firm and strong, just as one would expect from two former members of the Her Majesty's Royal Navy.

"Al," Alexander Granger said, his smile genuine at the prospect of being able to speak with an old friend, but at the same time, reserved as he remembered the things that the two of them went through, "It's good to see you again, it's been what? Ten years?"

"At least," Al replied, nodding, he smiled and added, "Closer to thirteen actually"

Alexander smiled, and then he motioned to his wife and daughter, "My family," he said, "I don't know if I've told you about them when we were deployed, but this is my wife, Emma," Emma Granger approached Al and they shook hands as well, though Al did his best not to crush the gentle hands of the dentist, "and my daughter, Hermione," Hermione approached Al and offered her hand.

Al smiled at the gesture and shook hands with the youngest Granger. The Deputy Commander of the Rose Order did note that she had kept her left hand behind her back, and from the frown on the face of her parents, it was clear that the young Gryffindor witch was holding her wand.

"Pleasure" Al said, he bowed to Mrs. Emma Charlotte Granger, before he turned towards Hermione. He smiled at her before he turned his attention back towards Alexander, saying, "Alex, there is something that we need to talk about, which is why I am here, but first, I would need to ask your permission to bring in a few friends of mine"

The seriousness in the voice of his old comrade had warned Alex that he would not like what Al was about to say. He glanced at his family, and then back at Al before asking, "Should we keep this talk to ourselves Al?"

To the surprise of all the Granger's, Al shook his head, "it would be better if they hear this as well, it involves them, especially" he turned his attention to the youngest Granger, "Hermione"

Hermione wanted to confirm her suspicions that this man is a wizard, she was getting ready to use her wand, but before she can bring it to bear, her father said, "Alright, you have my permission Al"

"Thanks Alex," Al replied, and to the surprise of everyone, he pulled a wand out of the left sleeve of the black jacket that he was wearing, which he then flicked once, sending a signal that everyone saw.

Hermione moved to counter, she saw this man as a threat now, but before she can move, she took time to study the wand that this strange man had withdrawn from his sleeves. It was like all other wands that it was made of wood, but unlike wands that she had seen before; his wand was longer and seemed thicker.

At that moment, three figures beamed into the living room, reminding Alex Granger of Star Trek.

Upon seeing the three men who had beamed into the room, Hermione whipped her wand out and pointed at them, asking, "What was the last thing I gave Harry Potter before he went off to face Voldemort during our First Year?"

Harry smiled at her, "A hug" he replied.

Hermione nodded, she sighed to relax herself and then lowered her wand, without warning, and certainly ignoring her father, mother and all the other adults in the room, she suddenly threw herself at Harry.

She would never admit it but Hermione would have wanted to give Harry more than a hug, both today and during that time at the Third Floor Corridor, she would have wanted to kiss him, but then her Gryffindor courage failed her, that time. Right now, she cannot because her parents are there.

Al introduced the newly arrived guests to the Granger elders. Both dentists were not sure of what to make of Remus when they were told that he was a werewolf, or of Sirius when they were told that he had escaped from a maximum security prison, but when they were introduced to Harry, they suddenly paused.

Alex and Emma Granger were perplexed. They had watched as three men beam into their room, but that was something that, while they did not expect, they are prepared for, after all, their daughter was a witch, but it was more than that when they looked at Harry, it was as if a dam had broken in their minds and the waters of memories flooded into their being, it was remembering something that for some reason, both had forgotten.

Al, who had his attention at his old friend, was first to notice it. He can tell that the glossy eyes and almost blank look anywhere, for as a battle wizard, he is accustomed to using the same tactic – erasing the memory of an opponent as soon as possible. As soon as the color on the eyes of both Granger parents returned, Al turned towards Alex and asked, "What do you remember?"

Those words separated Hermione from Harry, her concern for her parents that saw her ready to tackle Al back in her eyes. She looked at her father, as did Harry, as Alex Granger said, "Halloween, 1981"

Al looked at Sirius, as did Remus and Harry, just in time to see him nodding. He looked at Alex for a few moments, before he said, "When I arrived at Godric's Hallow that night, Hagrid was already there, holding Harry, but there was someone else, someone that we are sure is not magical"

"My father?" Hermione asked, looking at the three adults.

"We thought so," Sirius admitted, he looked at Alex and nodded, before turning his attention back towards Hermione, "Now we know so"

"We used to live on the coast," Emma Granger said, looking at her daughter, she lovingly added, "Hermione loved it there"

"Halloween, 1981," Alex Granger said, "I was out because our baby supplies run out," he obviously thought it better not to mention what those particular supplies were, "when I saw this light coming from an island, I felt compelled to investigate, I felt as if my daughter was calling me there, so I got on my boat and went there"

"Godric's Hallow?" Harry asked, looking at his three guardians

"There was a destroyed house and bodies," Alex said before anyone can say anything in response to the question posed by Harry, "and then I heard a baby cry, I looked for the child and saw a baby with the greenest eyes," he looked at Harry and confirmed it, "and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead," Harry showed him the scar.

"Dad," Hermione said, "You mean to tell me that you were there when Harry was taken by Hagrid?"

Alex Granger nodded, "More than there, princess," Alex replied, he looked at Sirius and said, "You were there as well?" when Sirius nodded, Alex continued, "I saw a man there, with the longest goatee I would ever see, and he pointed something at me and I was paralyzed," he looked at Al, "Any idea who he is?"

Al nodded, but his response of 'Lemon-Drop', was closely followed by 'Supreme Obliviator' from Sirius and 'Chief Manipulator' from Remus sowed confusion among those who do not know whom they are referring to, Harry looked at a confused Hermione, whom he noted was still holding hands with him, and smiled at her before saying, "You know him as Dumbledore, they," he indicated his three companions, "have their own nicknames for him, Sirius insists that I come up with my own as soon as possible"

Alex Granger nodded, it was clear that he failed to see the humor behind the nicknames that the three adults have used, so he just continued with his story, "The last thing I remembered was this man placing the child on the middle of the abandoned home, and then I lost consciousness, the next thing I remember, I was back at home and that's it"

Emma Granger, who had went to the kitchen to grab a couple of drinks, had now returned and filled the blanks in the story that her husband had just narrated, "Probably the same man that Alex saw on the island appeared on our front door that same day, he was carrying Alex, he pointed a wand at me and the next thing I remembered was being anxious on finally moving away from the shore,." She looked at Alex and said, "Now that I remember, I was the one who insisted that we live near a beach because I love watching the setting sun there"

Al looked at Harry; by now, everyone was sitting where they can find seats. The Deputy Commander of the Rose Order noted that Harry and Hermione were not only sitting together, they were also holding hands, and from the way that they were holding hands, it was clear that they were not letting go anytime soon. Al wondered if it was the revelation that they could have lived with each other as pseudo-siblings, or if it was something else. At that moment, he suddenly remembered something, and he looked at Emma Granger, "Ma'am," Al began, he was stopped by Emma who began insisting that she be called by her first name, "Emma" Al corrected, "May I ask why that particular beach?"

Emma seemed to think about it, and then replied after a few moments, "Well, it was a beautiful stretch," she replied, "And as I said, I loved watching the setting sun, but," she suddenly looked at Hermione, she noted the closeness of her only daughter and Harry, and then back at Al, "one of the foremost reasons was Hermione, when we passed the stretch of beach, she started crying, so Alex stopped there, she seemed happy there"

Al nodded, "May I ask if Hermione ever wanted to go to the island where Alex saw Harry?" he asked, the tone of his voice was read by everyone in the living room, and they all realized that the answer to the question is critical for something that Al is thinking about. What that something is, however, only he knows.

Emma paused to think about the answer, but she did not pause for long, she actually started laughing as she remembered, "She demanded, in a way that only one year olds can, to go to that island, but we always manage to placate her, everyday, when I take her out for a walk, she would reach out for that island,"

"And after Halloween 1981, it suddenly stopped?" Al asked.

Emma almost fearfully nodded, she realized that there was something wrong, but it was Alex who asked, "Al," he said, "What is it?" and from the look on the faces of everyone in the room, it was clear that he was the only one who knows what the hell he is talking about, since the others are also demanding an answer to the question that Alex just asked.

"Something that we can never be sure about unless we make some tests," Al said, she looked at Alex and said, "Alex, there is a guard from the Order of the Phoenix outside, and it is imperative that Harry, his godfather and Remus here must remain hidden from him," Alex nodded, "May I suggest sending Harry and Hermione somewhere for the time being?"

Alex was about to agree, from the tone of voice that his old friend had used, he got the distinct impression that whatever it is that he is about to talk about, he does not want to talk about in front of the two kids, but before he can open his mouth, Hermione said, "I demand that we be allowed to hear this if it is something that involves me and Harry."

Harry nodded as well, and it is to him whom Al turned and implored, "Harry," he said, "I am not sure if you are ready for this"

Harry snorted, "It doesn't matter isn't it Al?" he asked sarcastically, the teenager decided to use the words that Al had used against himself, "Things happen when you are the least ready for it after all,"

Al sighed, he looked towards his two companions and found them laughing at him, and then back at Harry and nodded, "Very well," he replied, he looked at Alex and Emma, who both have no choice, seeing the look on the face of their daughter, in the matter and nodded their permission for Hermione to stay as well.

"Alex, you would forgive me for this," he began, but before the only Granger male can say anything, Al continued, "I have travelled the world as Deputy Commander of the Rose Order, and I can tell you that what Hermione felt during those days is something well documented, well researched, and cannot be replicated upon command," he smirked as he added to Sirius and Remus, "After all, the future is something that we are all anxious to know of."

Recognizing that particular phase from a book that they had read from the English Headquarters library of the Rose Order, the two adult wizards paled. Sirius, however, voiced the thought of the two in a single word, "Shit," he said.

Al smiled at the crudeness of the language. Remus dropped his cup of tea when he recognized that phase, but a quick repair and cleaning charm later and everything was back to normal.

Al turned toward Alex and Emma and said, "In the magical world, there are those couples who feel whenever their future is near and I think that that was exactly what happened that day when you stopped by Godric's Hallow," he sighed, but before anyone can say anything in response – Al was prepared to bet that Alex would have ranted at his use of the word 'couple' – the Deputy Commander of the Rose Order turned toward Hermione and said, "If I may, I would like to ask you a couple of questions?"

Hermione nodded, and Al asked, "I want to know what you felt when you met Harry that afternoon of September 1, 1991," he said, "specifically, physically, emotionally, magically, and mentally."

Harry turned his attention toward Hermione, conveniently forgetting the fact that the two of them were still holding hands. For the first time since he had known her, she seemed to hesitate in answering a question. Al just smiled encouragingly at her.

Hermione paused for a few moments to remember what she felt that day on the train, she had to mentally banish the thought of Ronald Weasley impliedly insulting her, and for a few moments, Al was worried that her parents might interfere, but a quick look at the two dentists showed that they too are anxious to know the answer.

Hermione sighed, "When I first met Harry that day, I felt something tugging at me that I could never name, I now know that as my magic, and when I think about it, I can say that I am feeling magically…," she searched for a word, "compelled?" she tried, but then shook her head, "that would imply that I would have no choice, but see, I did have a choice, seeing that I left them a few moments later."

Al nodded, he gave the impression that that was exactly the phrase that he was looking for, he looked at her and her parents and said, "Hermione's magic recognized Harry's, much as, I believe, it had recognized Harry all those years ago before you left that house, their magic had made a connection," Al looked at Sirius and Remus and said, "I would say that that is enough, but then again, most magical couples do feel the same way when they meet their spouses, so we cannot be sure if that is what we are looking for," he looked at Hermione and asked, "Physically?"

Hermione replied, "it was hard to get away from him after meeting him" she replied, "At first, I thought it was because he was famous or something, but it wasn't that."

Harry nodded, understanding what she was trying to say. Of all the friends that he made in Hogwarts, the boy-who-lived was sure that it had only been Hermione who had seen him as Harry Potter and not as Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived.

"Your magic is interfering with your physical capabilities because it has already recognized Harry," Al explained, "whether or not as your future spouse is still debatable, but I think we are heading there," his statement brought a smile on the face of both Harry and Hermione, "mentally?"

"I had to be with him," Hermione answered instantly, "there was no other consideration, I had to be with him and that's it"

"You left remember?" Harry reminded her, almost hesitantly. He might not say it today, but the truth was that when Hermione left that afternoon, he wanted to go with her. He, however, prevented himself from acting on it as he did not want to leave Ron behind. The boy was his first friend, after all, and to Harry – who grew up without friends – that was something that he was not yet prepared to do.

"That was because of a certain red haired boy," Hermione replied playfully, lightly pinching Harry's face with her hand, "And emotionally, I felt as if all my emotions are about to break then and there, I felt as if I wanted to laugh, cry and be angry at the same time"

Al looked at Sirius and Remus who both nodded. Al was about to turn to explain to Alex and Emma, but Sirius interfered, he turned towards Al and asked, "How long did you think?"

Al smiled, "Emma had already provided us with the answer to that one," he replied.

Remus blinked, "Since birth?" he asked.

Al shook his head and smiled. He thought about teasing Remus about it, but the truth was, even someone like him can understand the sense of romance that such a notion brings, after all, there is nothing much more romantic than being bonded with someone since birth.

"The moment that Hermione passed the island," he corrected Remus; he smiled and then looked at the couple.

Harry and Hermione were staring at one another as if they are the only two people in the living room, aye, as if they are the only two people in the house. Without another word, they suddenly moved their head toward the other and before Alex can do anything, their lips lightly touched each other.

A shockwave that came from nowhere erupted from the two of them and spread out evenly in all directions. Al, Remus and Sirius were instantly knocked out the moment that the shockwave reached them. Alex and Emma managed to remain conscious enough to see that their daughter and Harry are now enveloped in a white cocoon of light with hints of gold before a second shockwave erupted from Harry and Hermione.

This time, both Alex and Emma Granger were knocked out as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**FOUR**

**The Burrow, Weasley Home**

**Devon, England**

Albus Dumbledore sat on the round table filled with the cooking of Molly Weasley, aware that the money that the Weasley matriarch had used to buy all the ingredients for this feast had came from the Potter vault.

With him at the table was the Weasley patriarch, who was looking subdued, as usual, the two youngest Weasley siblings and the spy of Albus Dumbledore in the ministry, Percival Weasley.

The twins, Fred and George, are out of the house since they had been given permission by Molly to visit their friend Lee Jordan, while the two eldest Weasley brothers, Bill and Charlie, are out of the country, in Egypt and Romania respectively, for their jobs. That suited Dumbledore just fine since the one that were not included in this meeting are the one that are not in on the plan. More, Albus is sure that the ones that are not included in this meeting are the ones who would not want anything to do with the plan.

Glancing at Arthur, who was obediently eating his dinner, Dumbledore cannot help but feel sorry for him. He had been under the Imperius curse for nearly thirty years now, and had been fed more than enough love potions that made him addicted to it, but the self-styled 'Leader of Light' consoled himself by convincing himself that everything that they are doing is for the 'Greater Good'

Arthur was just unlucky enough to have been the one that Molly Prewett had chosen as her husband when Dumbledore asked her to choose for the fulfillment of their plan.

Glancing to the boy sitting beside his father, Dumbledore saw Percival Weasley. The former Hogwarts Head Boy was sorted into Gryffindor only because of the fact that he had red hair. If not for that fact, everyone in the table would be prepared to bet that Percy would have been sent to Slytherin. He was devious, cunning and would not hesitate to sacrifice his own family for his advancement, traits that made him ideal as the Dumbledore spy inside the Ministry. A staged fight between father and son in Diagon Alley was all that was needed to make the idiot that is the Minister believe that Percy is loyal to him rather than Dumbledore.

On the other side of Arthur was an empty seat, which was meant for Molly. The Weasley matriarch was currently putting the finishing touches on her main course, so she was out on the kitchen, and then Dumbledore. To the other side of Dumbledore are three empty seats, before his eyes rested on the pretty little red head of Ginevra Weasley.

The youngest of the Weasley sibling is the best example of what would happen to a person if they were raised in a specific way. Molly Weasley had raised her only daughter – the only female child that she and her husband had been waiting for, for so long – into thinking that she is the only one who is acceptable to marry Harry Potter. Everyone else is an obstacle that can and must be surmounted using whatever force is necessary, even if that obstacle has to be destroyed. As Ginevra was very young when the conditioning started, indeed, the conditioning had been going on even before the young girl can talk, it is now mostly complete and had became self-sufficient. To test this, Dumbledore had once told Ginevra that it might be impossible for her to become the bride of the boy-who-lived and in reaction, the youngest Weasley let loose enough magical strength that had destroyed a section of the outer walls of Hogwarts.

Dumbledore again consoled himself as he thought about how different the life of Ginevra Weasley had turned out by telling himself that all of this is for the Greater Good.

Sitting beside her young sister was the youngest Weasley boy. Unlike Ginevra, who had became the person that she is now because of how she was raised, Ronald was born jealous. Stifling a chuckle, Dumbledore remembered how the one day old Ronald, seeing that his blanket was shabby, actually stole the blanket of the baby beside him so that he can use it, and did not care that the other babies crying woke the entire nursery up, while he slept.

Dumbledore need not console himself for the youngest Weasley since he had been born like that. Ronald, however, is also a good actor, so much that he might actually win the muggle Academy Award for Best Actor, and he is the same age as Harry Potter, which made him the best man to plant beside the young Potter heir. Dumbledore knew that the boy, starved of friendship and affection, would instantly trust Ronald without knowing that the boy would happily murder him so that he can get his money.

At that moment, Molly entered the dining room, a platter full of chopped roast chicken between her two hands. As the Weasley matriarch placed the platter at the center of the table, Dumbledore studied her. Molly could easily become the potions mistress of Hogwarts if she ever needed a job. Like most pureblood supremacist, however, she believed that the place of a woman is in her house, serving her husband and raising her children. That she had to use a love potion and subsequently impreiused her husband to enforce this fantasy of hers is of little consequence to the pureblood.

At the moment that Dumbledore was about to tear off the legs of the roast chicken in front of him, an owl flew into the room and dropped a letter off for Percy, who quickly snatched it and grudgingly paid the delivery owl. No one noted that the owl glanced at the sumptuous feast before it flew away; everyone was staring at Percy, who opened the letter with a feeling of dread.

He had expected the letter to be some sort of notice from the minister who had discovered who he was working for, so when he saw that it was from, Matthias Plod, their spy inside the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Percy cannot help but sigh. His good mood, however, instantly banished after he read the note and handed it to Professor Dumbledore.

Dumbledore read the letter three times, trying to decide as he was doing so if the letter was a joke, but decided that, since it came from a well-placed spy inside the ministry, it cannot be a joke.

The mind of the leader of the Order of the Phoenix seem to work overtime as one can practically see the digits forming in the mind of the Headmaster. The silence that had descended on the dining room of the Burrow unnerved everyone but the Headmaster, and it was not long before Ron had to speak to break the uncomfortable silence

"Headmaster?" the youngest Weasley male asked, only to receive a blow to the back of his head courtesy of his mother whose mere glare was enough to send her son the simple message of 'shut up'.

Albus Dumbledore waved his hand about and the letter burst into flames, shocking everyone in the room except for Dumbledore, Percy, and Arthur, the first two because they had already read the letter, and the latter because, frankly, he cannot be shocked because he is under the mind-control curse.

It was clear that the three other Weasley's – Molly, Ronald, and Ginny – are fully expecting that they can read the letter.

"Headmaster," Molly said as she looked at Albus, not missing the glare that her youngest son had sent her way. Albus smiled at the action of the youngest as it reminded the aged Headmaster of his younger days back when he glared at anyone who would dare answer the question posed by the professor before him. Of course, there are other things that Albus and Ronald have in common, but one thing is obvious, their academic ability is not one of those.

"It is nothing Molly," the Headmaster assured the Weasley matriarch even as he shot Percy a glare warning him not to say anything about the contents of the letter to his mother. The red headed ministry member gulped before he nodded, thankfully, an action that was missed by his mother.

"Let us eat, Molly," Albus said, attempting to find anything to remove the attention of his guests from the letter that he had just burned. As the Weasley matriarch, however, began to serve the food, the Headmaster of Hogwarts cannot help as his thoughts returned to the letter that was sent by the 'caretaker' of Harry Potter, Arabella Figg. The letter was a warning that her charge was missing and had not been seen since the morning before, which was unusual.

**Maidenhead, Berkshire**

**England, United Kingdom**

His training in the military helped Alex Granger evade the beam of light that seemed to rapidly expand from the kissing figure of her daughter and their guest, but he was not fast enough to really evade the beam of light and he was knocked out together with their guests and his wife.

An unknown amount of time later, the former commander in the British Special Air Services pulled himself to his feet as he groggily shook his head and looked around him. Noticing his wife stirring, Alex Granger knelt on one leg and did a quick physical check of his wife. He was sorely tempted to plant a kiss on her lips as he remembered – with a chuckle – the fairy tales that he used to read to his daughter when she was younger.

Thinking about his daughter, he turned his attention back toward where he last remembered her and he had to blink twice as he could have sworn he saw a nimbus of golden white light surrounding Hermione and the boy whom she was locked in a kiss that made Alex blush.

For a split second, Alexander Granger was remarking to himself that his little princess was all grown up and was actually fulfilling her role in her own fairy tale.

Suddenly, Neanderthal rose from somewhere within the battle-trained SBS operative and he would have charged straight at Harry and Hermione and forcibly separate them had he not felt the slight pull on his shirt. Turning around, Alex saw his wife holding onto his shirt, feebly, but determinedly.

"Emma," Alex began.

"I wouldn't, Alex," Al said as he pulled himself up to his feet. Beside him, Sirius and Remus followed suit and they turned their attention toward Harry and Hermione again. Sirius let out a whistle that made Alex seriously want to knock the man out, but he was prevented from doing so by Remus whose response to the inappropriate action of his friend was to hit him at the back of his head.

"This is something that is supposed to be solemn, your inappropriate comments are not needed here," Remus said, it was obvious that the words were meant for Sirius Black, but even if that was the case, the werewolf had all of his attention focused on the couple.

Thoroughly cowed by the sudden physical action from a man that is usually very gentle, Sirius just nodded in response. He might have had some choice words for Remus, but at that moment, he does not care as he focused all of his attention at his godson and his girlfriend, thought after just a few moments of staring at the two of them, the escaped convict did seriously wonder if using the term boyfriend-girlfriend for Harry and Hermione would still be appropriate, all things considered.

"Don't you think we should separate them?" Alex asked a few moments later. It was clear that the former SBS commander had wanted to ask that question since the moment that he was stopped by his wife from forcibly separating the two, it was a miracle that he was able to stop himself from asking that question once every few seconds, "I think that is enough of a demonstration from the two of them," he elaborated with matching hand gestures, "We get it, he is her boyfriend, she is his girlfriend"

Al chuckled, making Alex turn to look at his former subordinates with a questioning expression. Remus and Sirius followed suit with Al a few moments later, and within moments, the three magical beings in the house were laughing, causing Alex to wonder what exactly was wrong with what he had just said.

"I'm sorry, Alex," Al said a few moments later when he saw that his former commander was sure that he had not said anything wrong and that the laughter was directed at him personally, "It's not you," the former SBS commando assured his former commanding officer, "It's just that I do not think it is appropriate for us to use the term 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' anymore when it comes to these two"

"What?" Alex asked.

"I'm sorry, Alex," Al replied with a smile, he looked at Emma and offered the same apology, before he turned his attention back to his old commander and explained, "The soul bond is a rare form of a bond, Alex, it is not something that can be faked, for it is a manifestation of fate and destiny," he sighed once and added before Alex can say anything, "Simply put those two over there are going to get married"

"What?" Alex asked, unintentionally raising his voice as he lost every semblance of control at the unwelcome news. He turned to look at his wife, possibly to see if she can offer him some sort of support, and was horrified when he saw that Emma Granger was actually delighted, to hear the news, "Emma?"

"Come on, Alex," Emma replied, her voice smug and her expression triumphant as she smirked at her husband, "I told you those two would someday be a couple, I just didn't realize that they would be married soon," she shrugged before she added, "It does not make any difference to me, of course, I know that she loves him"

"Officially, they are now betrothed to each other," Remus said, he looked at Sirius, who nodded, before he turned toward Al and raised his eyebrow toward the Deputy Commander of the Rose Order. Al sighed once and nodded before Remus turned his attention toward Alex and Emma and said, "Betrothals can be broken, just as engagements can be, but marriage, in our world, cannot," he explained, "As the parents of Hermione, you may, at any time before she comes of age – which is seventeen in our world – break the betrothal or engagement, but if they get married, then not even death would break them apart"

"Then we would just have to…," Alex began, but paused and gulped when he saw the look that his wife was giving him. It was a look that all husbands in the world over knew as it was a warning that they are very close to being exiled out of the marital bed and having to spend the night alone on the couch. It was more than enough to silence the man who had been decorated for bravery during the Falklands Conflict.

Unfortunately for Alex, everyone inside the room, and that number included the two who are currently still locked in a kiss and was not aware of anything that is happening around them, agreed with Emma. Al offered his former commander an honorable way out and sincerely hoped that the SBS officer would see it as that, "Alex, think of what your daughter would have wanted," he said.

Alex Granger paused and stared at his former subordinate, wondering if he still has the right to kick the man's ass. Unfortunately, Alex knew that he had lost that when he left the Armed Forces to start this dental practice with his wife, but even if they were still on the service, he still does not have that right. He looked at his daughter and could have imagined her smiling at him, before he finally conceded and nodded.

"If it is what Hermione wants, then I would give him my permission to marry my daughter," Alex said, turning toward his wife as he said that. He was promptly rewarded by Emma for his surrender by giving him a kiss that, while nothing compared to the kiss shared, and still being shared, by Harry and Hermione, was more than enough to make Alex wish to seat.

"How long before this ends?" Emma asked toward the general direction of the three magical beings inside the room with them. It had been over five minutes since the time that they had regained consciousness after being hit by the shockwave, and they did not know how long they had been out before that.

Remus and Sirius shook their heads as Al answered the question, "The literature says that the longer the couple shares their first kiss, the more powerful their bond is, and the more powerful they and their would-be children are," the former SBS Commando shot his former commander a look of concern at the mention of children, but Alex kept to himself and refrained from saying anything, "We know that both your daughter and Harry are powerful, but I think we would be seeing an end to this soon"

Sirius was the first one to alert everyone that the golden white nimbus of light that was surrounding Harry and Hermione seem to become more and more gold. All eyes were turned toward the couple as the white light disappeared and was replaced by gold, and everyone would have been knocked out again had Alex not had the presence of mind to yell, "Everyone down!"

Another shockwave that seemed to come out of nowhere rocked the room but did not damage anything. This time, the wave extended far beyond the confines of the four walls of the Granger house continuing on and scything down anything in its path but not doing anything damaging to those who do not have magic inside them. To those that had magic within them, the effect was not really fatal, it just insured that they would not be up for quite some time. Within minutes, the wave had travelled to the eastern coast of England, gathering speed even as it travelled further and further from the source.

Many years later, researchers who are researching the wave – which they dubbed as 'the Shatter Wave' for no apparent reason – would be shocked when they realized that the wave travelled the world three times in just under twelve hours.

**Department of Magical Regulation**

**Ministry of Magic, London, England**

At the ministry, devices that are used to monitor illegal magic suddenly decided to all go off at once. The person in charge of monitoring them was a lucky bastard, as he had never seen this happen before, so he decided to leave the room and call for his supervisor. At the same time that he closed the door to run for his supervisor, every device shattered into a thousand pieces, sending lethal projectiles everywhere.

If the man who was supposed to be monitoring them had waited for his supervisor instead, he would have died. The wave itself is not fatal, but the splinters and pointy edges of shattered glass devices certainly were.

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Scotland**

If Albus Dumbledore had been in his office that morning, he would be howling mad.

His office has a collection of silver instruments on a flat surface, and as soon as the magical backlash reached Hogwarts, these instruments were the first to go off. At first, they started to twirl and complain like crazy; sending high shrill sounds into the air, but after a few moments, when it was clear that the device were being forced to accept too much power, they just started to explode.

The occupants of the portraits in the office were the only ones that had witnessed the phenomena, but because the devices exploded, millions of silver pieces started to fly everywhere, destroying more than half of the portraits in the office. Later reports would record that the portrait of Phineas Nigellus and Amando Dippet were among those who were most damaged. The former was pierced by a single large piece of stained glass that had landed exactly at the mouth of Phineas while the latter was destroyed when two pieces that must have came from the same silver instrument cut off the ears of the portrait.

At another part of the castle, the magical shockwave made contact with an aged tiara. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but suddenly, the tiara started to emit a scream that would have sent anyone who had heard it running away. Before long, the tiara melted into a puddle so hot that it melted the floor underneath it before continuing on. By the time that the puddle had cooled, Hogwarts had gained another chimney as the puddle had reached the dungeons before it was cool enough.

Ironically, the hot puddle landed straight into the dorms of the incoming fifth year boys of Slytherin, in particular, the bed of one Draco Lucius Malfoy.

**Grimmauld Place, **

**London, England**

At the former Black Manor, a piece of cursed jewelry lay beside other items collected over the centuries by the members of the Black Family.

As the magical shockwave scythed through the locket, it suddenly started to scream, never mind the fact that lockets generally do not scream. Kreacher, the Black family house elf who was charged with the destruction of the locket, was alerted by the screaming and the aged house elf quickly popped into the study, thinking that a thief had somehow entered the house of the Black Family.

While the house-elf was in mid-transit, however, the locket exploded into a thousand pieces and set everything around it on fire. Kreacher might be a loyal house-elf, but in the end, he is still a house-elf and had a sense of self-preservation built into him even if he was not aware of it. His sense of self-preservation kicked in and the Black family house-elf found himself outside Number 12 while the house itself burned to the ground as a result of the fire.

Somehow the house-elf knew that the last order given by his master had been fulfilled. That news, however, was tempered by the fact that the portrait of his mistress was still inside the house when it burned to the ground.

**Gringotts Bank**

**Diagon Alley, London, England**

Being underground did not stop the magical shockwave as it scythed through the underground vaults of some of the oldest families in the Wizarding world.

At a high security vault, the magical shockwave scythed through a magical cup that had lain inside the vault forgotten for more than a decade. As with the locket, the cup screamed a shrill noise before it burned and was shattered into a million pieces. Unfortunately, the Lestrange family – the owners of this particular high security vault – had insisted that the multiplication and cursed fire curse be added to their security. It was unfortunate because the moment that the cup shattered into a million pieces, parts began touching the gold stored inside the vault, setting off the two curses. In short order, all that was left of the Lestrange family vault was ash.

The magical shockwave scythed through the much older vaults being kept by the goblins, and in four particularly old vaults, the magical shockwave passing them resulted into those vaults shaking in celebration. An heir of the founders of Hogwarts had made himself known.

**Malfoy Manor**

**London, England**

The magical shockwave passed through the beautiful and obviously expensive manor much like how it has passed through the other manors in the area.

Lord Voldemort was in a meeting with his inner circle, the moment that the shockwave hit the place, every witch and wizard in the area suddenly found themselves kissing the ground, and in the case of one death eater who was unluckily conducting business in the comfort room, he suddenly found himself kissing his bodily wastes right after he had deposited it.

The ones most affected were Voldemort himself and his snake.

In the case of the self-styled Dark Lord, he was walking along the stairs, he likes to walk every time he is making a speech, when the shockwave hit. The magical shockwave knocked him out, and unfortunately for him, his foot slipped and he found himself not only kissing the ground, he found himself kissing the ground with two broken limbs, an arm that is set in an unnatural angle and a bleeding wound on his head. Since all of his followers are down with him, and would not recover for another hour, no one can help him until then.

As for the snake, it reacted much like the three other items, but in the case of the snake, there was no deafening silence after the black spirit was exorcised. It was a good thing that the death eaters and Voldemort are down, if not, then they would be getting front row seats as they watch the snake explode.

**Maidenhead Police Precinct**

**Berkshire, England**

Deadalus Diggle shook himself awake as he tried to remember the events prior to him losing consciousness. He remembered having been asked to watch over the Granger family as they are crucial to the war effort against the Dark Lord, but he was sure that wherever he is right now, this is not the Granger family home.

For one thing, the member of the Order of the Phoenix was sure that the Granger family home does not have railings in their rooms, nor does any report that Deadalus Diggle had received from agents indicated that the Grangers are playing host to three extremely large, tattooed gentlemen.

"Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?" one of the three gentlemen with Deadalus asked with a grin, "Good, you missed your welcoming party,"

Moments later, a shrill scream coming from one of the cells inside the police precinct alerted the watch officer who hurriedly made his way to the source of the scream, only to see Deadalus held upside down by the biggest prisoner with him while the two others beat the crap out of the wimpy pureblood wizard, not that the duty officer knew about the last one, of course.


	5. Chapter 5

**FIVE**

**Gringotts Bank, Diagon Alley**

**London, England**

Harry and Hermione along with her parents, Remus Lupin and Al York, walked purposely toward the rather massive building finished in white marble that was located in a convenient location within the magical destination hidden within the heart of London.

Harry and Hermione are holding hands and leading the party. Both were wearing casual clothes, and in the case of Harry, this was a short-sleeved green dress shirt and black dress pants with a black belt and the same color leather shoes, while for Hermione, this was a light pink blouse and jeans with white rubber shoes.

Behind them are Alex and Emma, both wearing the same casual clothes as Harry and Hermione, which, for Alex's case was a blue short sleeved dress shirt, light brown slacks with brown belt and brown leather shoes, and for Emma, this was a light green blouse and jeans with white rubber shoes.

Due to the nature of their dress, since they are the only ones who are wearing what can be classified as 'muggle' in the alley, almost every person that they pass turns their attention towards them.

Bringing the rear of the party was a smiling Al and a worried looking Remus. Both were wearing muggle clothes that can be classified as acceptable in the magical world. Both men were wearing black greatcoats that reach up to their knees, and matching black dress pants.

In the case of Al, he was also wearing a sword, with a baldric that hung from his right shoulder to his left hip from where what appears to be a goblin forged sword hung.

Remus, however, was a surprise. Harry and Hermione are used to seeing their professor wearing threadbare and patched-up clothes, but the clothes that he was wearing today, while not new looking, looks well kept.

The party was heading towards Gringotts so that Harry can take control of the fortunes of his family. After being told by Harry, Remus, Sirius and Al, Hermione and her parents have insisted that Harry should take control so as to stop the thefts from his family.

At the huge double doors that mark the main entrance to the Gringotts Bank, two goblins, both wearing armor and carrying long spears, bowed towards them. This was the first time that a goblin had bowed to Harry as he was visiting the bank, though he would admit that he had only visited the bank once, so it raised eyebrows.

He, however, did not deign to ask the goblins why they are bowing to him, because for all he knows, they, the goblins, might be bowing to someone else. a quick glance at Al confirmed that the battle wizard had sensed his anxiety in regards to that action and that the battle wizard would explain it as soon as he is able.

Upon entering the bank, Harry paused, he can see that the bank is busy, with almost all of the goblins behind the counters entertaining customers. He gazed across the hall, looking for a free goblin, and spotted one at the far end of the hall. Harry nudged Hermione lightly, diverting her attention towards the goblin who was free, and she nodded, but they had barely taken a step towards the free goblin when another one approached them.

This goblin bowed towards the party and then said, "Greetings, Harry Potter, I am Scarface, personal assistant to Senior Manager Grimfist"

Harry inclined his head slightly towards the Goblin. He might be asleep ninety five percent of the time when they were having History of Magic, but he is not stupid enough to forget his manners when dealing with a goblin. Looking at Scarface, Harry saw that the goblin was unarmed, but that does not mean that the goblin guards are not, and besides, it was common courtesy to return a greeting, "Greetings, Scarface," Harry replied, and he was followed in kind by his companion.

"It has been a long time Scarface," Al said, after he greeted the said goblin, he smiled towards the goblin, who grinned back, before asking, "I trust that you and yours are well?"

"Very well, Blade Master Alvin," Scarface replied, the use of the honorific confusing everyone in the party save for Remus, who managed to snigger.

Al nodded, while Scarface turned his attention back towards Harry, "Harry Potter, Senior Manager Grimfist is waiting for us at his office, and he had sent me to guide you so that you may find his office faster, may I take you there?"

Beside Harry, Hermione gasped as the indications of what the goblin had said hit home. Harry turned towards her, intent on asking her for an explanation, but she shook her head and gave him a look that basically said 'I'll explain on the way there', so Harry was forced to look at the goblin and nodded.

Scarface led Harry, Hermione and their companions up three flights of stairs that are polished with marble, and past three halls that are as wide as the main hall on the ground floor of the bank, save that instead of counters, this hall has rooms. As they walked, Hermione told Harry, "Only the oldest and wealthiest of all families in the Magical world have their own account managers" she explained.

Behind them, Al added to the explanation, though his explanation was meant for the three Grangers and Harry, "The Potter family," he said, "is one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest, in the whole magical world"

By the time that they reached the office of the account manager, Harry and Hermione's parents are already well aware of the implications of meeting a senior manager.

Scarface knocked three times on the door before he opened it and respectfully allowed Harry and his companions' entry. Harry stepped into the office first, followed by Hermione, and then her parents. Remus and Al were last to enter, the latter exchanging some pleasantries with their guide goblin first.

They found themselves in an ornately furnished and tastefully decorated office that looked more like a conference hall than an office. The main furniture in the office was not a desk, as Harry had suspected, but rather, a large oblong shaped table with eighteen seats, including one at the head of the table.

Before the door was even closed, another goblin was already making his way towards them, and as soon as he had reached the proper distance, the goblin bowed, "Mr. Potter" the goblin said as he recovered from his bow and inclined his head in respect as a reply to the bow that Harry had given him, "Welcome to my office, I am Senior Manager Grimfist," he gave them all a grin, which, as he is a goblin, would probably intimidate people more than anything else, before he motioned for Harry to take the seat at the head of the table.

Harry did so, though he insisted that Hermione sit at his right hand side. This did not anger Grimfist, more; the goblin looked as if he had expected that that would be the case. Since Hermione was already seated at the right hand of Harry, her parents took the seats beside hers, and both Remus and Al sat beside them, leaving the entire left hand side of Harry devoid of life.

This, however, seemed to be what was really supposed to happen, because Grimfist took a seat on Harry's left hand side after asking for the permission to do so, and once he was seated, three other goblins entered the office from a different door behind Grimfist.

These three goblins all bowed, first, towards Harry, who stood as he received the bow, surprising all goblins inside the office, and then towards Grimfist before they asked, and were given permission, to take their seats beside Grimfist.

As soon as everyone was seated, Grimfist turned towards Harry and asked, "Where would you like to begin, Mr. Potter?"

Harry nodded, he glanced at Hermione, an indication that he had no idea what he is supposed to say, before turning back towards Grimfist, "In all honesty, Senior Manager," he began, "I have no idea"

Grimfist blinked, he looked surprised, and then he nodded, but before he can say anything, Al cut in, "With respect, Senior Manager, perhaps, it would be better if we begin with the Will of Lord James and Lady Lily."

Harry and Hermione thought that the Senior Account Manager and the three other goblins who were in the room with them looked a bit uncomfortable with that, but the well practiced goblins – who are probably trained to control their emotions while in front of important clients like himself – managed to hide their discomfort from the other humans in the room.

After a few moments, Senior Account Manager Grimfist sighed and looked directly at Harry, "My Lord Potter," he said, before he turned toward Al and added, "Blade Master Alvin York, it is with deep regret that I inform you that the Last Will and Testament of the late Lord and Lady Potter had been blocked by the Wizengamot under the leadership of Albus Dumbledore," and Grimfist sounded positively depressed when he said that.

"We know this," Al replied, inclining his head slightly toward the Senior Account Manager, a generally accepted sign among the goblins that whatever fault it is that the goblins think they have incurred with the irregularity was not recognized and was forgiven. Al allowed Harry and his companions some time to take what the goblin had said in consideration before he continued, "We are also aware that Gringotts has a copy of the Will, an unaltered, original copy."

Account Manager Grimfist turned toward one of the goblins and made a motion with his hand. The goblin that was being addressed bowed his head low toward the Account Manager before he opened a folder that was lying on the surface in front of him. From that folder, the goblin retrieved a sheaf of papers that was promptly handed over to Grimfist.

Account Manager Grimfist studied the paper that was handed to him for a few moments, nodding almost to himself every few moments as he flipped through the five pages of the document, before he gave one final nod and turned his head toward Al and Harry, "This appears to be in order," the goblin stated. He looked hard at the two humans before he let out a goblin equivalent of a sigh and asked, "Would you like me to read it?"

Al shook his head, "That would not be necessary," he replied, he extended his hand toward the Account Manager, but did not really made any overt motion to snatch the paper from the sharp claws of the goblin. Aside from the fact that that would be impractical, it could be Alexgerous as the goblins would take that as a sign of contempt against them, "I am sure that Harry would be more than capable of reading the Will of his parents by himself."

Harry was not sure about that, but gave his tentative nod, remembering his promise earlier to the Deputy Commander of the Rose Order to follow the lead of the latter once they are inside the bank. Harry might not have that many dealings with the bank, but he knew, from the way that the goblins deferred to Al, that the goblins respect the Deputy Commander.

_Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that they call him 'Blade Master',_ Harry thought to himself, making a mental note to check what that term means when he finds the time.

Grimfist looked ready to argue for a few moments, but then he gave a tentative nod toward the direction of Al and handed the document, though everyone seated at the table can tell that he did so reluctantly.

Al examined the papers the moment that he got it, but the Deputy Commander of the Rose Order did not deign to read the papers himself. After skimming through the five page document, he nodded once – though it was more to himself – before he handed the document to Harry while saying, "There is no need to read it right now, but I would suggest that you do so"

Harry nodded and spent the next five minutes reading through the document. At first, it was full of legal sounding words that Harry had to admit that he cannot understand. On the second page, where the specific bequests of his parents are written, Harry was easily able to discern that the Will had been violated several times.

Foremost among the provisions of the Will that was violated was his placement. Apparently, James and Lily Potter had worried about what would happen to their son on their untimely death and had specifically written on their Will that under no circumstances was he to be placed under the care of one Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

Harry looked up toward Al when he read that specific provision, but the Blade Master merely smiled at him and invited for him to continue. Figuring that Al would want to talk about the specific provisions after Harry had finished reading the document, Harry nodded back and proceeded to read the rest of the contents of the document.

Harry sighed once and pushed the document forward through the surface in front of him when he was done with reading. The boy took a few moments off to relax himself, what he had read from the Will of his parents had made him angry and he feared that he might unwittingly release his anger on someone.

Al allowed Harry a few moments to compose himself, but after those few seconds that the Deputy Commander of the Rose Order had decided for himself had come and gone, he looked at Harry and said, "There are some things that you have to be in control of if you want to succeed, Harry, and controlling your anger is one of those things"

Harry nodded once toward Al, and took a few breaths to calm himself. When he was sure that he would not be flashing lightning at anyone, he turned his attention toward the Senior Account Manager and said, "Very well" he said, he looked at Grimfist and asked, "Master Grimfist, exactly what are my inheritances?"

Grimfist grinned again, he motioned to the three other goblins and said, "I have invited Account Managers Scartooth, Griphook, and Grayback to this meeting because they are the ones who are more familiar with these accounts Mr. Potter," at the look on the face of Hermione, Grimfist thought to explain, "My function as Senior Manager of the Potter accounts is to supervise the three main vaults and the seven minor vaults that have the name Potter written on them"

Hermione blinked, "Three?" she asked, and when Grimfist nodded, she complained, "but goblin banking law states that families may only have one main vault"

"Yes, families with the same name may only have one vault," Grimfist clarified, he did not look angry that Hermione knows the goblin banking law, more, he looked pleasantly surprised that she does, "But the three vaults we are talking about here only has the name Potter written on them, they are not Potter vaults per se, but rather, the Potter family is the only living heir to them all"

Harry nodded, "May I know the names of these vaults that I have?" Harry asked, he looked in fascination as the three goblins withdrew a box each in response to the question and pushed all three boxes towards him.

"The family rings in these boxes would recognize you as the heir," Grimfist said, he opened the first box and said, "This is the Potter family ring, and I think that this is the one that you should try first"

Harry nodded; he studied the ring and found it beautiful yet simple. There was only one stone in it, a white sparkling diamond, but at the center of the diamond was a shield that Harry oddly found familiar. He thought of showing the seal to Al and asking the obviously knowledgeable Blade Master what the shield was, but before Harry can say anything, Remus interjected himself by saying, "that is the Shield of the Potter family," there was a pregnant pause before Remus added, "With your family motto '_Honor Clarrisima Gemma_', Honor is the brightest jewel"

Harry tried on the ring, and it fitted easily. Grimfist looked, for some reason, disappointed when nothing else happened. He was about to open his mouth to say something when the ring suddenly glowed, emitting a light that surrounded Harry for a few moments, and then, something else happened, the light suddenly surrounded Hermione as well, but in her case, she was also suddenly wearing a ring which was an exact copy of the ring that Harry now wore, except that the diamond was smaller.

A surprised Grimfist looked at Harry, and then at Hermione, and then back at Harry before realizing that the young Lord Potter has no idea what the hell is happening, so he looked at his two guardians, Remus and Al, with a questioning look.

Both Remus and Al were surprised as well, but they looked as if they were half-expecting what had happened. Al was the first one to get over the shock of what had happened and looked at Grimfist, "We were half-expecting this, yes," he admitted, "but not this early, certainly not like this"

"Can someone please explain what is going on?" Emma demanded, she would have demanded that from her daughter, since she was certain that she would get more answers from her, but the problem was, Hermione was staring at Harry, while Harry was staring at her, and it was pretty clear that both of them are not going to be answering any questions anytime soon.

"Alex, Emma," Al said, looking at the two parents, he sighed and then said, "You just witnessed something that I never thought I would witness," he glanced at Harry and Hermione, both of whom were still staring at each other as if there was no one else in the room but the two of them, though by now, they are also smiling at each other, "at least, not this early"

Account Manager Grimfist thought to add his own two cents worth, unfortunately, what he added was exactly what Alex did not want to hear, "The fact that the Potter ring had appeared on her finger is a sign that the two of them had progressed betrothal to engagement," he said. Alex turned his head toward the goblin so fast that if the former SBS commando was wearing glasses, said accessories would probably be flying. Fortunately, Alex had near perfect eyesight – courtesy of corrective eye surgery – and avoided such an incident from happening.

Grimfist thought to rejoin the conversation before Alex Granger started shouting at the top of his lungs, something that, even though there are silencing and privacy charms surrounding the office, he is sure he would not want to witness, and said, "The magic of the Potter family ring recognized Lord Potter," he indicated Harry, "but it took some time because the ring also detected that Lord Potter now has two souls inhabiting his body, and the magic looked for the owner of that part of the soul, and found your daughter"

"Basically," Remus said, looking at Alex, "Harry has a part of his soul in Hermione, and your daughter has a part of hers in Harry," he looked at Alex and Emma, his gaze boring straight into their eyes, though there was nothing hostile in his gaze, "This is what it means to be soul-bound."

At that moment, both Harry and Hermione dropped their gaze from each other, though it was clear that they did not do so because of embarrassment, more, they are giving off indications that they would want nothing more but to continue what they were doing and stare at each other. Harry turned towards the two other boxes that were in front of him, and he opened one of them without even moving.

"Such control," Al suddenly commented, looking at Harry as he opened the box using wandless magic, he smiled and said, "Not even Lord James, or Lord Charles, could have done that, and that box he opened, that was the Peverell family, not someone who would just bow."

Harry looked at Al, but Al shook his head and motioned for Harry to try on the ring. Harry studied the ring and saw that, unlike the Potter ring, this one was much more extravagant with no less than five small diamonds and eight rubies. Harry had a hard time wearing this one ring, it seemed as if there was an invisible barrier that is preventing him from wearing the ring, but after a few moments, he was able to wear the ring and in an instant, a light surrounded him.

Since the Peverell family was not his main family, everyone assumed that the light would only engulf Harry, so everyone inside the room who understood pureblood politics, even the goblins, were rendered mute when the same light engulfed Hermione and a smaller version of the Peverell family ring appeared on her hand as well.

"Okay," Alex said after the light subsided, this time, Harry and Hermione did not stop time to look at each other, "I think that we can do without being reminded that my princess is now going to get married every time," he looked at Al and Remus, saw the shocked expressions on their face, and then at the goblins, where he also registered the same shock, before he looked back at Al and Remus, "I take it that that is not supposed to happen then."

As usual, it was Al who recovered first, "yes," he admitted, he looked at Hermione and saw that she was now wearing two rings and shook his head in disbelief before looking back at Alex and Emma and explaining, "The Potter family ring recognizing Hermione as the next Lady Potter was half-expected, but the Peverell Ring?" he asked, and then he shook his head again, "Never before has a woman been made lady of two Ancient and Noble Houses at the same time, traditionally, lords of two ancient and noble families may have two wives."

"I guess that this means that Harry would rather only have Hermione by his side," Emma commented dryly.

To her surprise, Remus, and then Al, nodded, "Taking into consideration that light we saw when they first kissed? I guess that we should not be surprised when the third ring recognizes Hermione as well," Remus said.

Harry nodded; he smiled at the Hermione before he opened the third box, this time manually. The ring resting inside the box called to him, not as compelling as the Potter family ring, but certainly more than the Peverell ring. Harry gently picked the ring and studied it, the ring itself appeared to be made of gold and there was only one stone in it, a ruby.

Harry easily wore the ring and was surrounded by a nimbus of golden-white light. Expecting Hermione to be surrounded by the same light, everyone turned their attention towards her, but was disappointed when she appeared fine. As the white light surrounding Harry dissipated, everyone assumed that for this one family, Hermione would not be the lady as well.

Suddenly, Hermione was surrounded by a golden nimbus of light as well, though it was subtly different from the one that had surrounded Harry. Within a few moments, Hermione was wearing a third ring, but it was different from the one that Harry was wearing.

"The Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor," Grimfist said, nodding towards Harry. The eyes of the goblin widened when he saw the ring that Hermione was wearing, and in awe-struck tones, he said, "the Ancient and Noble House of Ravenclaw," before chuckling as he said, "The Heir of Gryffindor and the Heir of Ravenclaw bonded together," he smiled, "Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor would have been pleased to know that their descenAlexts are bonded."

"As they are bonded, Master Grimfist," Al added. He turned his head toward his two charges and smiled.

Seated three seats away from his former subordinate, Alexander Granger noted the grin on the face of Al York. The former SBS commando can tell that his one time subordinate was planning something, and he was not sure if it is something that would be good for his daughter, or the man that apparently would someday be his son-in-law.

Shaking his head imperceptibly, however, Alex Granger decided not to mention anything and instead, he turned his gaze toward Harry. He sighed, again imperceptibly, as he wondered if he should not have allowed his daughter permission to enter the magical world in the first place.


End file.
